'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Is My Favorite Movie Of 2012

“Everything will be all right in the end. So if it is not all
right, it is not yet the end.”

Some people think of that quote as belonging to Paulo Coelho.
Others to John Lennon. A special few, however, know it as the
oft-spoken adage of Sonny Patel, owner of a fictional hotel in
Jaipur, India. As someone who believes The Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel to be the best movie of 2012, the fact that I fall into
the latter category should be no surprise. It should also be no
surprise that many people choose not to believe that I’m serious
about loving it as much as I do. Seeing and enjoying poorly
reviewed movies is a hobby—or perhaps condition—of mine (I saw
Safe Haven last weekend on my day off from work), so I don’t
have the best track record.

As the Oscars draw near, the
next in a
series about our strong movie opinions, past and
present.

I’m aware that a movie about seven elderly Brits who move into
an Indian hotel sounds like a red flag to many people, so I
understand why you think I’m joking or perverse or wrong in liking
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as much as I do. But I’m not.
And it’s my goal to make you believe me.

Though Oscar nominees for Best Picture are by no means a
definitive list of a given year’s best movies, the spotlight placed
upon them during awards season provides the kind of widespread
familiarity that should help with my upcoming comparisons.

Even though I loathed every speaksongy second of Les Mis
and was genuinely shocked by just how generic Argo ended up
being, if I were to replace a single Best Picture nominee with
TBEMH, I’d go with Silver Linings Playbook. The two
films have large casts filled with tremendously talented actors.
They both have a similarly fence-hopping tone that juggles laughs
and tears. They also share themes like starting over, growing old,
moving on from former loves, dealing with new ones, and seeking a
purpose in one’s life. But! Silver Linings Playbook
attempted to tackle all of the above by adding a rose-colored layer
of super-cute mental illness to its lens, but mental illness isn’t
all that cute. With those constant violent outbursts, Bradley
Cooper’s Pat had no business being out of the hospital. He needed
to get better. But Silver Linings Playbook had no intention
of presenting characters who behave the way real people behave in
situations where real people often find themselves. TBEMH
did.

Earlier I described it as a movie about “seven elderly Brits who
move into an Indian hotel.” And because it’s very easy for a movie
that can be explained in so few words to create an equally
simplistic final product, any of you who scoffed at the premise
were entirely justified. It was adapted from a book I haven’t read,
but people I’ve talked to who have say the two works have little in
common aside from my initial nine-word description. But the film
adaptation, at least, deserves some spinning out. Something like:
a movie about seven British citizens in their twilight years
who, for a number of reasons including health care, squandered
savings, past loves, and new ones, move to an Indian hotel to
better their lives. Yes. That’s better.

There is a humanity in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
that isn’t evident in its marketing, or even its title. Both
suggest a simple romp about nervous (and possibly xenophobic)
Brits, but what we find instead is a thoughtful, funny, and
occasionally profound story about getting older that doesn’t
patronize its audience or reduce its characters to stereotypes.

Evelyn (Judi Dench) is introduced while setting up her new
internet service after the death of her husband have left the
utilities in disarray. An old person being overwhelmed by new
technology is an easy joke, but TBEMH treats her as someone
confused but capable; and her phone conversation with an Indian
customer service agent isn’t used as a punchline, but as the
beginning of a larger subplot. Evelyn gets a job (her first ever)
as a consultant at an Indian call center in a series of scenes that
both surprise us with their heart and impress us with their
construction. Also, the death of M in Skyfall coupled with a
TBEMH sequel in development means Judi Dench has found a new
franchise to preside over.

She’ll get to wear so much linen in this
franchise.

Muriel (Maggie Smith) is the oldest and most crotchety of the
bunch, having come to India because it was the cheapest and most
immediate option for her hip surgery. She’s an angry, intolerant
old woman who, at the movie’s start, finds India and its residents
appalling, but she eventually changes her attitude. And though her
eventual 180 is expected, it takes time. It’s earned. TBEMH
understands that we don’t change at the drop of a hat or simply
because it’s the third act, and Muriel is given a reason to
decide it’s time to change.

Anne Hathaway could never make this
face.

The only married couple in residence are Douglas and Jean (Bill
Nighy and Penelope Wilton), who came to The Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel after a bad investment left them with nothing but dreary,
panic button-filled retirement options in London. Their marriage
has devolved into a relationship filled with tension and devoid of
love, and while Nighy and Wilton are arguably the film’s most
experienced comedic actors, they turn what could have easily been
Archie and Edith into a heartbreaking and honest portrayal of a
marriage that’s run its course.

This is not a screencap from The Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel.

Singles Madge and Norman (Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup) are the
horniest of the residents, deciding to leave England after feeling
like they’d exhausted its pool of potential partners. Both are
looking for sex and are outwardly confident about their prospects,
but they have an unshakable, private fear of dying alone. Any movie
can throw in a Viagra joke, but TBEMH turns what could have
been an easy joke about that funny blue pill into something sweet
and, to some extent, hopeful.

Can you handle how wonderful this
is?

Even Sonny (Dev Patel), the owner of the hotel, gets a subplot.
When his mother arrives unannounced, she makes her disapproval of
his personal and professional choices loud and clear. And though it
could have been written as a cliche-filled throwaway story about
arranged marriages, it’s given the time to become as satisfying as
the others.

Dev Patel is in “The Newsroom.” I hate “The
Newsroom.”

The final resident is Graham (Tom Wilkinson) and he’s given the
best subplot and you’ll be in tears because Tom Wilkinson is
perfect and that’s all I’ll say about him.

To me, he is perfect.

Perhaps it isn’t hard to convince all of you that an octet of
respected British thespians makes a movie worth watching, but I
think the movie’s setting may be holding you back. I’ve been asked
on more than one occasion whether or not the film has a xenophobic
or outright racist representation of India, and my answer is a very
confident “No.” This is a story could have been set in any place
its central characters consider unfamiliar. Though the elderly
Brits are initially overwhelmed by the cultural differences, the
setting is never presented as backwards or undesirable. Though
hesitant at first, everyone gets used to the food. To the
transportation. To the customs. The residents of The Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel do their best to not only adapt to their
surroundings, but to accept and find comfort in them.

Because not everyone in the movies goes abroad to eat, pray, and
love for a holiday. Not everyone in the movies experiences
something different only to return home and pat themselves on the
back for surviving it all. The characters of TBEMH are in
India to stay, and by the end it becomes their home.

So what do you think? Are you convinced? Are you willing to take
a chance on Judi Dench? Maybe I was too complimentary. If so, I
should ground it with some criticism. Here goes.

My one complaint with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is
the inaccuracy of that saying, so allow me to offend Paulo, John,
and Sonny by offering a revised version: Everything will be all
right in the end. So if it is not all right, it’s because it’s the
Oscars.